What if I overpay?

When I produce commercials and social media shoots, I usually tell vendors my rates up front. “We’ve got $2,000 in the budget for this, can you make that work?” My usual vendors can attest—I send this script incessantly. 

A shrewd business person might wonder why I don’t ask for their rates first, so I can get the best deal. “What if you overpay?” they wonder.

What if I overpay? Oh goodness, what if? What if I make a freelancer’s day? What if they have more resources to do a better job than ever before? What if they start prioritizing my projects? What if the few hundred I could have saved helps them make superb work that gets me more work?

You can view business as a game. That’s fine. You can squeeze every last drop. While you’re seeing it as a sprint, I’ll trust the process for the long game.